I'm currently playing Assassin's Creed Nexus on Quest 3. I actually started the game on Quest 2, and I was so impressed with the visuals and gameplay (and the game's cool AR implementation) that I knew I wanted to play the best possible version. So I freaked out and bought a Quest 3 on Amazon, and had it same-day delivered.
I'm going to be writing a full review of the game in a few days, so I won't spend too much time here yammering on about how awesome the gameplay is and the how detailed and cool the settings are. But I do want to draw some attention to the game's next level sound design, because it goes a long way towards selling the player on the fact that they are occupying a different world from their own.
I first noticed how good the sound was on Assassin's Creed Nexus' first level, when I was running along the walkway between two towers the top of a fort. A lady was sweeping up the boards with a broom, and I thought to myself "What would happen if I shanked this lady as I ran by?". So, of course, that's exactly what I did. While I expected everyone behind me to freak out (they did) at my casual act of wanton murder, what I did not expect was to hear their cries for help sound as though they were actually coming from behind me, fading further into the distance as I ran away.
The Quest 3 claims to have 40% louder audio that Quest 2 (which was already no slouch), but what I can't believe is how good the spatial sound is. At one point in Nexus, I was tracking a guard, and he wandered behind a building. I could hear him shuffling around over there, with the building muffling the sound between us. It was such an incredible and subtle effect that I just stood there for a second listening.
I've also been in situations in the Connor (of Assassin's Creed 3 fame) areas of the game where I'm running through restricted areas and I hear British soldiers on the rooftops around me. I can actually pinpoint their locations by the sound of their voices, so I've taken to running through with my bow drawn, so I can just fire off arrows in their direction when I hear them shout and take them out. It's spectacular.
Perhaps I'm coming off as a bit of a noob, being so agog at spatial sound, but when it's just coming from some weird little built-in speakers on a VR headset, I can't help but be impressed. I haven't played any other games on my Quest 3 yet, outside of a few tech demos. But judging by Assassin's Creed Nexus, the Quest 3 is living up to the hype so far, and the sound quality on the unit is a big part of that.
